Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Alternative Identifiers”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17

Optimized Route Capability (ORC) Intelligent Offloading of Congested Arrival Routes

The Optimized Route Capability (ORC) concept is designed to enable intelligent offloading of congested arrival routes. When ORC predicts arrival route congestion as projected excess arrival meter fix delay, automation offers decision support to traffic managers by identifying candidate flights to strategically reroute to alternate meter fixes and alleviate the congestion. This concept was applied to a model of arrival operations into Houston International Airport. An arrival rush from the Northeast was simulated in fast-time to analyze ORC algorithm behavior. The results demonstrate how strategically rerouting a few flights to alternate meter fixes not only has the potential to manage meter fix delay (and possibly the need for traffic management initiatives applied upstream), but may also increase airport capacity utilization and reduce total flight delay.

Zelinski, Shannon↗

CLOSURE REPORT FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION UNIT 577 AREA 5 CHROMIUM CONTAINING WASTE DISPOSAL CELLS

Report will be submitted to the state of Nevada Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 577, “Area 5 Chromium Containing Waste Disposal Cells,” includes five low-level waste cells at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) where buried waste received from Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS), was subsequently determined to contain chromium that exceeded the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure regulatory limit, which would require the waste to carry hazardous waste code D007. CAU 577 was created to satisfy the requirements of the Settlement Agreement (SA) executed between the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office on April 25, 2019. The SA required that the chromium-containing waste received from NFS would be addressed following the closure process laid out in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO). The FFACO process ensures proper closure of the chromium-containing waste cells and documentation of that closure through FFACO-type documents (NDEP 2019). As stipulated in Paragraph 5C of the SA, a Corrective Action Decision Document/Corrective Action Plan (CADD/CAP) was prepared that identified and evaluated risks and corrective action alternatives (CAAs) for CAU 577, provided the plan for implementing the recommended CAA, and presented the post-closure plan (U.S. Department of Energy [DOE] Environmental Management [EM] Nevada Program 2021).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Joint Test Report For Validation of Alternatives to Aliphatic Isocyanate Polyurethanes

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) have similar missions and therefore similar facilities and structures in similar environments. The standard practice for protecting metallic substrates in atmospheric environments is the application of an applied coating system. The most common topcoats used in coating systems are polyurethanes that contain isocyanates. Isocyanates are classified as potential human carcinogens and are known to cause cancer in animals. The primary objective of this effort was to demonstrate and validate alternatives to aliphatic isocyanate polyurethanes resulting in one or more isocyanate-free coatings qualified for use at AFSPC and NASA installations participating in this project. This joint Test Report (JTR) documents the results of the laboratory and field testing as well as any test modifications made during the execution of the testing. The technical stakeholders agreed upon test procedure modifications documented in this document. This JTR is made available as a reference for future pollution prevention endeavors by other NASA centers, the Department of Defense and commercial users to minimize duplication of effort. All coating system candidates were tested using approved NASA and AFSPC standard coating systems as experimental controls. This study looked at eight alternative coating systems and two control coating systems and was divided into Phase I Screening Tests, Phase II Tests, and Field Testing. The Phase I Screening Tests were preliminary tests performed on all the selected candidate coating systems. Candidate coating systems that did not meet the acceptance criteria of the screening tests were eliminated from further testing. Phase I Screening Tests included: Ease of Application, Surface Appearance, Dry-To-Touch (Sanding), Accelerated Storage Stability, Pot Life (Viscosity), Cure Time (Solvent Rubs), Cleanability, Knife Test, Tensile (pull-off) Adhesion, and X-Cut Adhesion by Wet Tape After a review of the Phase I test results, four of the alternative coating systems showed substandard performance in relation to the Control Systems and were eliminated from the Phase II testing. Due to the interest of stakeholders and time constraints, however, all eight alternatives were subjected to the following Phase II tests, along with field testing at Stennis Space Center (SSC), Mississippi: Hypergol Compatibility, Liquid Oxygen Compatibility, 18-Month Marine Exposure (Gloss Retention, Color Retention, Blistering, Visual Corrosion, Creepage from Scribe, Heat Adhesion), and Field Exposure (6- and 12-month Evaluation for Coating Condition, Color Retention, Gloss Retention). The remaining four alternative coating systems determined to be the best viable alternatives were carried on to Phase II testing that included: Removability, Repairability, Abrasion Resistance, Gravelometer, Fungus Resistance, Accelerated Weathering, Mandrel Bend Flexibility, and Cyclic Corrosion Resistance. Of the systems that continued to Phase II, three (3) alternative coating systems meet the performance requirements as identified by stakeholders. Two (2) other systems, that were not included in Phase II testing, performed well enough on the 18-Month Marine Exposure, the primary requirement for NASA technical standard NASA-STD-5008, Protective Coating of Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, and Aluminum on Launch Structures, Facilities, and Ground Support Equipment, that they were also considered to be successful candidates. In total, five (5) alternative coating systems were approved for inclusion in the NASA-STD- 5008 Qualified Products List (QPL). The standard is intended to provide a common framework for consistent practices across NASA and is often used by other entities. The standard's QPL does not connote endorsement of the products by NASA, but lists those products that have been tested and meet the requirements as specified.

Lewis, Pattie↗

Assessment of Alternate Thermal Protection Systems for the Space Shuttle Orbiter

Candidate concepts are identified. The impact on the Shuttle Orbiter performance life cycle cost, and risk was assessed and technology advances required to bring the selected TPS to operational readiness are defined. The best system is shown to be a hybrid blend of metallic and carbon-carbon TPS concepts. These alternate concepts offer significant improvements in reusability and are mass competitive with the current ceramic tile reusable surface insulation. Programmatic analysis indicates approximately five years are required to bring the concepts to operational readiness.

Kelly, H. N.↗

Level 2 software reuse study

The Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP) Level 2 Software Reuse Study group was formed by Bob Nelson (NASA SSFP) from members of the Information Systems Program Support Contract (PSC) team. The objectives of the study were to identify existing software reuse libraries, to identify existing reusability processes and experiences, to identify reusability analysis tools and users, and to provide recommendations for a software reusability process for the SSFP. To date the following have been delivered: (1) definitions of commonality and reuse, (2) a report on existing software reuse libraries and library management systems, (3) a report on reuse process and methodology gleaned from software reuse experts, and (4) a report on software attributes for measuring commonality and reusability. Three implementation alternatives for a repository of reusable components were identified: centralized at the SSE Development Facility (SSEDF), a distributed approach across the network of Software Production Facilities, and a directory approach. A number of findings from the reuse study and several reuse strategy considerations were presented.

Herman, Scott E.↗

Compatibility of alternative fuels with advanced automotive gas turbine and stirling engines. A literature survey

The application of alternative fuels in advanced automotive gas turbine and Stirling engines is discussed on the basis of a literature survey. These alternative engines are briefly described, and the aspects that will influence fuel selection are identified. Fuel properties and combustion properties are discussed, with consideration given to advanced materials and components. Alternative fuels from petroleum, coal, oil shale, alcohol, and hydrogen are discussed, and some background is given about the origin and production of these fuels. Fuel requirements for automotive gas turbine and Stirling engines are developed, and the need for certain reseach efforts is discussed. Future research efforts planned at Lewis are described.

Cairelli, J.↗

Orbital debris risk analysis and survivability enhancement for Freedom Station manned modules

This paper briefly reviews how 'probability of penetration' analyses are currently performed at NASA, and discusses extension of this procedure to a 'probability of loss' analysis through identifying penetration hazards and failure modes. It goes on to discuss alternatives for increasing crew safety through redesign and/or augmentation of interior manned module systems, and describes an elementary analysis maximizing crew safety considering one identified penetration-induced failure mode (depressurization) and one interior design factor (number of hatches open).

Williamsen, Joel E.↗

Introducing GFWED: The Global Fire Weather Database

The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System is the mostly widely used fire danger rating system in the world. We have developed a global database of daily FWI System calculations, beginning in 1980, called the Global Fire WEather Database (GFWED) gridded to a spatial resolution of 0.5 latitude by 2-3 longitude. Input weather data were obtained from the NASA Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), and two different estimates of daily precipitation from rain gauges over land. FWI System Drought Code calculations from the gridded data sets were compared to calculations from individual weather station data for a representative set of 48 stations in North, Central and South America, Europe, Russia,Southeast Asia and Australia. Agreement between gridded calculations and the station-based calculations tended to be most different at low latitudes for strictly MERRA based calculations. Strong biases could be seen in either direction: MERRA DC over the Mato Grosso in Brazil reached unrealistically high values exceeding DCD1500 during the dry season but was too low over Southeast Asia during the dry season. These biases are consistent with those previously identified in MERRAs precipitation, and they reinforce the need to consider alternative sources of precipitation data. GFWED can be used for analyzing historical relationships between fire weather and fire activity at continental and global scales, in identifying large-scale atmosphereocean controls on fire weather, and calibration of FWI-based fire prediction models.

bias↗

DNA in a Tunnel: A Comfy Spot for Recognition - or -The Structure of BsoBI Complexed with DNA. What can we Learn about Function via Structure Determination and how can this be Applied to Bone or Muscle Biology?

The structure and function of a biologically active molecule are related. To understand its function, it is necessary (but not always sufficient) to know the structure of the molecule. There are many ways of relating the molecular function with the structure. Mutation analysis can identify pertinent amino acids of an enzyme, or alternatively structure comparison of the of two similar molecules with different function may lead to understanding which parts are responsible for a functional aspect, or a series of "structural cartoons" - enzyme structure, enzyme plus substrate, enzyme with transition state analog, and enzyme with product - may give insight in the function of a molecule. As an example we will discuss the structure and function of the restriction enzyme BsoBI from Bacillus stearothemzophilus in complex with its cognate DNA. The enzyme forms a unique complex with DNA in that it completely encircles the DNA. The structure reveals the enzyme-DNA contacts, how the DNA is distorted compared with the canonical forms, and elegantly shows how two distinct DNA sequences can be recognized with the same efficiency. Based on the structure we may also propose a hypothesis how the enzymatic mechanism works. The knowledge gained thru studies such as this one can be used to alter the function by changing the molecular structure. Usually this is done by design of inhibitors specifically active against and fitting into an active site of the enzyme of choice. In the case of BsoBI one of the objectives of the study was to alter the enzyme specificity. In bone biology there are many candidates available for molecular study in order to explain, alter, or (temporarily) suspend activity. For example, the understanding of a pathway that negatively regulates bone formation may be a good target for drug design to stimulate bone formation and have good potential as the basis for new countermeasures against bone loss. In principle the same approach may aid muscle atrophy, radiation damage, immune response changes and other risks identified for long-duration Space travel.

vanderWoerd, Mark↗

An assessment of technology alternatives for telecommunications and information management for the space exploration initiative

On the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, President Bush set forth ambitious goals for expanding human presence in the solar system. The Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) addresses these goals beginning with Space Station Freedom, followed by a permanent return to the Moon, and a manned mission to Mars. A well designed, adaptive Telecommunications, Navigation, and Information Management (TNIM) infrastructure is vital to the success of these missions. Utilizing initial projections of user requirements, a team under the direction of NASA's Office of Space Operations developed overall architectures and point designs to implement the TNIM functions for the Lunar and Mars mission scenarios. Based on these designs, an assessment of technology alternatives for the telecommunications and information management functions was performed. This technology assessment identifies technology developments necessary to meet the telecommunications and information management system requirements for SEI. Technology requirements, technology needs and alternatives, the present level of technology readiness in each area, and a schedule for development are presented.

Ponchak, Denise S.↗

Payload Sensitivities for Human Mars Exploration Transportation Systems

NASA is continuing to investigate mission and transportation system alternatives to support human exploration of Mars. Several publications over the last few years have outlined, in detail, the baseline reference architectures under consideration. These alternatives include SEP-Chemical Hybrid Propulsion Systems, oxygen/methane propulsion stages, and nuclear thermal propulsion systems. Studies to date have focused on identifying mission architectures that leverage these different transportation options to best support a Mars mission within the context of overarching guidelines and constraints. The focus on identifying "closed" reference mission architectures for these transportation options is a key first step in comparing alternatives and supporting the development of technology investment strategies. Architecture closure implies that the architecture identified provides a viable solution which meets all constraints and closely aligns with guidelines. If a viable architecture cannot be identified for a given transportation option, there is no need to continue investigating that option. However, at this early stage of architecture development, metrics of comparison should look beyond how these architectures perform relative to the baseline reference mission. Architectural robustness, or an insensitivity to requirements drift, should also be considered in any comparison of architectures. At this early stage of design, mission requirements have the potential to change as more definition is provided and more analyses are completed. Particularly in relation to the mass of transported elements, including Mars landers and crew habitat, it is recognized that as designs for these elements mature there exists the potential for mass growth. Selection of an architecture alternative carries with it programmatic risks and relative sensitivity to mass growth can provide insight into a particular architecture option's risk of being unable to complete its mission without significant redesign as more element definition is provided. This paper outlines the current understanding of the sensitivity

Percy, Thomas K.↗

The ILLIAC IV memory system: Current status and future possibilities

The future needs of researchers who will use the Illiac were examined and the requirements they will place on the memory system were evaluated. Various alternatives to replacing critical memory components were considered with regard to cost, risk, system impact, software requirements, and implementation schedules. The current system, its performance and status, and the limitations it places on possible enhancements are discussed as well as the planned enhancements to the Illiac processor. After a brief technology survey, different implementations are presented for each system memory component. Three different memory systems are proposed to meet the identified needs of the Illiac user community. These three alternatives differ considerably with respect to storage capacity and accessing capabilities, but they all offer significant improvements over the current system. The proposed systems and their relative merits are analyzed.

Stevenson, D. K.↗

Atomic‐Scale Surface Imaging of Bulk Epitaxial CsPbBr 3 Perovskite Single Crystals on Mica Using Light Assisted Scanning Tunneling Microscopy at Low‐Temperature (80 K)

Epitaxial single-crystalline CsPbBr 3 perovskite films on mica, prepared ex situ, are explored using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM) by probing the unoccupied electronic states of their surface in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) at 80 K. Light-assisted STM measurements under a broadband illumination with visible light were employed to enhance and stabilize surface conductivity. STM imaging across the surface of macroscopic bulk CsPbBr 3 films reveals large flat terraces characterized by a specific type of surface reconstruction, consisting of parallel rows of U-shaped atomic nanostructures. These structures are spaced by 12 Å and exhibit an internal feature size of 5.1 Å. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reproduce the experimental observations and reveal a competition between different orthorhombic CsPbBr 3 (110) surface reconstructions: a Cs-rich structure, identified as the most energetically stable, and three alternative Pb–Br-rich reconstructions, which are slightly higher in energy yet remain consistent with the STM data. Additional analyses that explicitly account for the mica substrate exclude the cubic CsPbBr 3 phase and other orthorhombic surface orientations, while showing that variations in the mica surface termination do not alter the preferred CsPbBr 3 (110) reconstruction. In conclusion, this combined approach thereby confirms our assignment and resolves previous STM interpretations of CsPbBr 3 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Reactions of Propyl Radicals: A Shock Tube - VUV Photoionization Mass Spectrometry Study

The pyrolytic reactions of n-propyl and i-propyl radicals and their precursors have been investigated at elevated temperatures and pressures (600 – 900 K and 5 – 8 bar). The studies were performed in a miniature high repetition rate shock tube with synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry yielding comprehensive datasets of temporal and photoionization energy dependencies of reagents and products. The propyl radicals were generated by pyrolysis of alkyl nitrites. In addition to the main decomposition path, NO elimination, the mass spectra allowed an alternative minor path via HNO elimination to be identified and quantified. For the n-propyl precursor the HNO elimination route accounted for 9% of the alkyl nitrite while for the i-propyl precursor it was 2.5%. These values are in good agreement with a recent study on i-butyl radicals in the same apparatus at similar conditions. The ratio of disproportionation/recombination was obtained for n- propyl from the relative concentrations of n-hexane and propene and for i-propyl from 2,3-dimethyl butane and propene. For n-propyl the ratio is 0.3 and 1.2 for i-propyl, both are independent of temperature and pressure over the experimental range. The disproportionation/recombination ratios are about a factor of 2 higher than prior evaluations that are based mainly on room temperature data. The experimental results are some of the first from the apparatus used and comments are made about the technique, challenges encountered, and suggestions for future developments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Thermomagnetic generators for ultra-low-grade marine thermal energy harvesting

Low-grade thermal gradients in marine environments represent an underexploited energy source for autonomous sensing and monitoring. Converting such small temperature differences into usable electrical power remains a key challenge for ocean-deployed systems. We present a deployable thermomagnetic generator thoroughly characterized for marine-relevant energy harvesting. The device powers an internet-connected sensor and harvests ultra-low temperature differences akin to those at the ocean surface. It draws heat from water and rejects it to ambient air, operating optimally at a temperature difference (ΔT) of ~7.5 °C. Laboratory prototypes generated up to 6.7 mW at ΔT ~ 10 °C with gentle airflow (~1 m s -1 ). A separate controlled wave-tank demonstration validated stable operation and sensor powering under marine-like boundary conditions. Given its voltage and power margins, the generator could sustain multiple sensor nodes. Scalability and material assessments identify modular deployment and non-rare-earth alternatives as pathways toward practical marine energy harvesting and low-grade waste-heat recovery.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Quasars with large proper motions: A selection from the LQAC-5 catalogue combined with Gaia EDR3: Focusing on astrometric and photometric properties

Thanks to the cross-identification between the Gaia EDR3 (E-Data Release 3) catalogue and the quasars’ compiled catalogue LQAC-5 (Large Quasar Astrometric Catalogue-5), accurate astrometric parameters as well as photometric measurements were available for a set of 416 113 quasars. After analysing the astrometric and photometric properties of these quasars, we concentrate our study on objects characterized by significant proper motion, which contradicts the postulate that they are fixed in the celestial sphere. We derived statistical properties of the positions, parallaxes, and proper motions of the quasars cross-matched with Gaia EDR3. We carried out a specific investigation of quasars with a proper motion larger than 10 mas yr -1 , and used colour-colour diagrams in mid-infrared to discriminate these quasars from stellar contamination. We discuss, in detail, a few cases where the abnormal proper motion could be caused by misidentifications. We note that 43% of LQAC-5 quasars were not detected by Gaia EDR3, mainly because of the cut-off magnitude at G = 21. The comparison between r(G) (Gaia) and r (SDSS) shows a normal distribution. The normalized distributions of parallaxes and proper motions are identical to that of the Gaia CRF2, as well as the distribution of the G BP -G RP colour index. We have identified 937 LQAC-5 objects (0.27% of the sample) with Gaia EDR3 proper motion which is significant at the 5σ level. We have clearly shown that below z = 0.35, the integrated magnitude G(r) obtained from SDSS spectra is smaller than G (Gaia), leading to the statement that the quasars are generally resolved under this threshold, which should lead to a bad determination of proper motion. Moreover, to discriminate quasars from stellar contamination, we have plotted them in a mid-infrared colour–colour diagram. Finally, we have made a final selection of 41 objects with μ > 10 mas yr -1 , satisfying drastic constraints, which makes them potential candidates for considering their proper motion as real. In this paper we carried out a complete analysis of the quasars of the LQAC-5 which were cross-identified with Gaia EDR3 ; this serves as an alternative and complementary study with respect to Gaia CRF2, involving a different population of quasars. We selected a set of 41 quasars with a proper motion exceeding 10 mas yr -1 , which can be considered as very high for objects which are a priori fixed in the celestial sphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Analytical basis for planetary quarantine.

The attempt is made to investigate quarantine constraints, and alternatives for meeting them, in sufficient detail for identifying those courses of action which compromise neither the quarantine nor the space mission objectives. Mathematical models pertinent to this goal are formulated at three distinct levels. The first level of mission constraint models pertains to the quarantine goals considered necessary by the international scientific community. The principal emphasis of modeling at this level is to quantify international considerations and to produce well-defined mission constraints. Such constraints must be translated into explicit implementation requirements by the operational agency of the launching nation. This produces the second level of implementation system modeling. However, because of the multitude of factors entering into the implementation models, it is convenient to consider these factors at the third level of implementation parameter models. These models are intentionally limited to the inclusion of only those factors which can be quantified realistically, either now or in the near future.

Schalkowsky, S.↗